Cutting The Chains: Heading For The Light

People,

I have seen the light and it's been shining so brightly of late that I just don't think I can ignore my revelation any longer. I am talking, of course, of the realisation that showing results can bring unnecessary pressure on yourself and can cause a player to tighten up their game to a stifling degree. At The Empire this evening, although I was a little tired, I left early precisely because I didn't want to fritter away a small profit and then report a big loss on the blog. I now realise that this sort of thinking is totally ridiculous and as a consequence I have decided that I will no longer bring you monthly updates of my actual results. I will still give general reports of my live sessions and mention if I play some online sessions, but I won't be stating profits and losses so explicitly. Ten months of giving true results is more than enough and I now have to make this financial side of my affairs my business and my business only.

I will still keep the blog running until the end of the year, of course, and the journey will continue to the end - I will just be releasing myself from the chains that have been slowing me down. It kind of means that I now feel I can run instead of walk. Next year, I hopefully will be flying!! Now although I have not made the type of money that I would have liked at this game in 2011, I still feel very confident about 2012 and I reckon I have enough tools to raise my game in the new year and to take it to a higher level. Giving my results away is certainly NOT the way to achieve this. Anyway, as I have said before, this belief and conviction will be backed up with a bigger bankroll in 2012 and more of an emphasis on playing well and less on obsessing about results.

I have re-evaluated my long-term strategy and come up with a general action plan for 2012. Now I know previously, I stated that I would avoid online cash games. The problem is, I really don't think I can avoid that particular temptation altogether so online poker WILL figure as part of the deal. Here is my action plan as it stands at the moment:

1. To ween myself back into the online game; starting by multi-tabling the low stakes cash games ($0.10/$0.25) and entering the odd satellite for the higher MTTs.

2. To avoid playing small buy-in freezeouts at The Fox Poker Club. The odd £50+ tourney (once every 2 or 3 months) may be ok.

3. To avoid heavy drinking but to allow myself no more than 3 pints - maximum - of an evening.

4. To stick to cash game poker; preferably the £1/£2 game at The Empire - but dropping down to £1/£1 if the seas get choppy OR having the odd shot at £2/£5 if the wind is flowing nicely through the sails.

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I hope y'all appreciate my decision and understand where I'm coming from on this but also that you will still follow me on the journey to the end.

Tonight, another session at The Empire calls.